Are Black folks getting what they need from Hillary?

Over the past week Donald Trump has been giving all sorts of speeches where he’s telling Black folks what he will be doing for us if he gets elected. He’s been also doing similar things with Brown folks, like softening his stance on immigration and holding a summit with Latino leaders. Not sure who those leaders are and if they actually hold weight, but he supposedly met with them.

Hillary is dismissive when approached by a young Black woman in March on the campaign trail. – Video: The Young Turks

Trump has promised us safer neighborhoods, more jobs etc. He’s also telling us the Democrats take Black and Brown folks for granted.

Now most of us know Trump is full of shyt, and while his remarks have gotten folks talking and many more laughing, he inadvertently does raise a few questions.

For those who are voting for Hillary Clinton, one should ask, “What is she putting on the table?”

The answer should be more than “she won’t be as bad as Trump.” What exactly is she promising that folks can hang their hats on?

Some have said she gets to appoint a Supreme Court Justice. That’s true. The question we should asking is; “Has she told any Black and Brown folks the justice she has in mind?”

Will it be a justice who would be backing the police and police unions or backing the people who are victims of police violence? If folks recall, it was just a couple of months ago the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) ruled police can do illegal stops and arrest you if they find something. Will Hillary be appointing a justice who opposes or sides with the scathing dissent Justice Sotomayor made in that horrific ruling?

Will Hillary be appointing a corporate friendly justice who will rule against workers, smash down on unions, protect developers and side with big tech companies – or will he or she be someone who is social justice minded?

For those who are voting for Hillary Clinton, one should ask, “What is she putting on the table?” The answer should be more than “she won’t be as bad as Trump.” What exactly is she promising that folks can hang their hats on?

Hillary was here in the Bay Area for the past couple of days. Did anyone meet with her? I know our Mayor Libby Shaaf hung out with her when HRC came up the street for an $80K per person dinner in Piedmont. If HRC did meet with anyone, what message did she ask you to convey to the rest of us?

Is Hillary gonna fight to put an end to school privatization? Will she support teachers’ unions or will she side with OUSD’s current charter school friendly superintendent?

What’s Hillary’s thoughts on gentrification? Did she say anything about that? Is she promising to help folks get affordable housing or is she backing the Black and Brown people removal policies of Mayor Ed Lee, who cut the ribbon when she opened her campaign office in SF?

Did she meet with housing rights people? Did any get to see her this past week – or did she meet with developers? How many folks down with groups like Causa Justa got to meet with Hillary vs. folks from developers like Lennar?

That’s the Bay Area’s own Alicia Garza, who coined the term Black Lives Matter and co-founded the Movement for Black Lives. They recently issued “A Vision for Black Lives,” a platform with planks on the issues the Black community cares most about and suggestions on how to demand and win support from candidates for each those issues.

There’s been a lot of talk about student loan debt. That’s a huge problem, not just for students attending college, but for their families helping foot the bill.

Did Hillary meet with any student organizations while here? This has been ground zero to push back and eradicate student loan debt. Is Hillary making strong promises to students that they can “take to the bank”? Are folks satisfied with her plan of action?

Hillary met with Tim Cook of Apple and other Silicon Valley folks. In fact, Tim held a dinner for her. Did she talk to him about making sure Black and Brown folks, whose votes she wants, will have lots of jobs and opportunities awaiting them?

Yes, we get it: For many, Donald Trump is the ultimate devil and he must be stopped. So are folks voting to stop Trump or voting to make history with Hillary? Think about that for a minute.

Lastly, as I noted on my return from Cleveland, Trump has a lot of enthusiastic, disenfranchised poor white folks riding hard for him. Many are backing him on the promise he is gonna put Blacks, Mexicans and Muslims in their place. They are out there putting in work for him.

There are lots of folks who are enthusiastic about third party candidates like Jill Stein. People who support her are putting in work. I see them all over engaging young voters and college students who are now returning to school.

Are those who support Hillary putting in work? Are y’all phone banking? Door knocking? Volunteering your time in key battle ground states? Has Hillary motivated you enough to do that? Many of y’all broke your neck to put in work for Obama when he ran. Some did this because they wanted to see history made. Why not now? Why are folks who insist others should vote for Hillary not putting in the groundwork? Is it a case of “Do what I say and not do what I do?”

Are those who support Hillary putting in work? Are y’all phone banking? Door knocking? Volunteering your time in key battle ground states? Has Hillary motivated you enough to do that?

FYI: For what it’s worth, prosperity Pastor Creflo Dollar is now backing Trump. He joins Mike Tyson, Azaelia Banks, Terrell Owens and Dennis Rodman, who are all backing the Donald. Is the Black vote being chipped away? Are Black folks getting what they need from Hillary?